The Dark Defender
The Dark Defender is a fanfic by Nickstar777. It is a Crime/Drama fic centred around Phineas. The fic is based on the Australian Action/Thriller film, John Doe: Vigilante. Unlike most of Nickstar's Phineas and Ferb fics, the fic uses more darker elements not suitable for some younger readers. Synopsis On the eve of the jury's final verdict, accused serial killer, Phineas Flynn, requested an interview with an investigative journalist. Phineas has been murdering serious criminals, one at a time, gaining much media attention and public support, causing an army of vigilantes to follow in Phineas' footsteps. I'm the Dark Defender Phineas was inside a prison interrogation room, handcuffed to a table with many security guards, investigative journalist, Kevin Rockmore, entered the room to talk to Phineas, thanking him for the opportunity. One Day Later, Phineas was in court for the jury's final verdict, when the verdict was about to be given to the public, an explosion interrupted the announcment. 2 Years ago, A news report was being given about a man who had killed a priest. Footage shows the murderer, calling himself, The Dark Defender, explaining who he is, while cutting to a shot of The Defender killing a priest. Back in the present, Kevin is talking to 2 employees at DNN (Danville News Network), who point out that they did edit the footage under someone elses orders. At a police station, Kevin starts talking to a detective, saying that the defender knew alot about his victims, saying that the Defender needed to be caught as people can't just go around killing eachother, justified or not. '''TITLE QUOTE: '''While the Defender is explaining who he is, he ends the clip saying 'I'm the Dark Defender' I know who you are A found footage video shows a man walking though an alleyway, when the Dark Defender sneaks up behind him and knocks him out, before shooting him. In Phineas' Interview, Kevin talks to Phineas about Media Manipulation, while Phineas points out that only half of what was happening was being told. At the HQ of Net News, an internet news network, Kevin talks to the boss, Bob, who tells Kevin that he accepted recieving footage from the Defender to help boost ratings. A news report from the beginnings of the murders showed Spencer Garfield, Net News' field reporter, talking about the Defender, and how if a person was a law abiding citizen, they have nothing to fear, an uncut version of the first murder showed The Defender breaking into the priest's house while he's giving a piano lesson to a little girl, after the Defender gets the girl to leave, The Priest asks the Defender to leave, but The Defender just beats up the priest and drags him into an office, where multiple photos of half naked children are on the walls, before the Defender kills the priest, Spencer says that the priest was killed because he was a pedophile and anyone can go outside at night, as long as they are a law abiding citizen. Back at Phineas' interview, Kevin asks why Phineas gave the footage to Spencer when he could have given it to anyone, but Phineas says he couldn't because the major news companies would only edit the footage again. '''TITLE QUOTE: '''When the Defender drags the pedophile priest into the office, he presses his face into the wall, saying he knows who he is, in response to the priest asking the Defender if he knew who he was earlier. Just got pulled over Late at night, a man was driving though an alleyway, stopping near a parked car, the man driving was the Defender, who walked up to the man near the parked car, before choaking him out with a garrote, strangling him to death. At Phineas' interview, Kevin asked Phineas why he decided to supply the major news companies with footage again, Phineas says he wanted more people to get the message and take action, so Phineas could stop. In an undisclosed location, The Defender killed a man by stabbing him in the neck with a broken bottle, before holding 2 photos of 2 little girls infront of the camera. Still in the past, Phineas was talking to his old childhood friend, Holly, who had been abused by her boyfriend, Phineas tries to get her to leave him, but she says she can't because of her daughter, Taylor. Later that night, The Defender killed Holly's boyfriend. On his way home, Phineas is pulled over by the cops for speeding, when a police officer asks for Phineas' license, Phineas gets it from the jacket he had in the back seat, when the cop leaves to check something, Phineas believe's he's been caught because his Defender mask was under the jacket and the cop must have seen it, however, the cop only gives Phineas a warning and lets him go. '''TITLE QUOTE: '''When Phineas is pulled over for speeding. The attention he deserved At the police station, Kevin is talking to the detective, talking about the criticism the police were getting for not doing anything about the Defender sooner, the Detective mentions that the Defender was killing career criminals, so nobody cared, until the body count started to rise. At Phineas' interview, Kevin asks Phineas about allegations that Phineas isn't the real Defender and that he doesn't believe that Phineas could have killed as many people as he had, but Phineas points out that killing is easy but the hard part is living with it. Found footage of a dungeon shows a young man chained to a wall begging for what was happening to him to stop, and an unseen man slapping him in the face. A news report showed Spencer talking about the victims that crimes create and how all of the Defenders victims had been let go by the justice system and how the Defender 'Speaks for the Dead'. Back at Phineas' interview, Kevin talks to Phineas about whether or not Phineas believes he really does 'Speak for the Dead', and Phineas believes he's acting for them. When Kevin points out that Phineas was killing others, Phineas asks Kevin what he would do if he knew someone was going to try to kill him in a car park and had a chance to kill him to protect himself, saying that the dead Phineas acts for didn't have a chance to find out what they would do. '''TITLE QUOTE: '''When Kevin asks the detective if he could have caught the Defender sooner, the detective says that the Defender got the attention he deserved Justification is relative During a news report, Spencer was talking to the leader of a group called 'The Speak for the Dead' movement, Mike Waters, who talks about a rally to show support for the Defender. Security Footage shows the back of a nightclub and a teenager who had been thrown out by 2 bouncers before getting beaten down, reports showed the teenager had gone into a coma before dying from his injuries. The bouncers who killed him are aquitted. A news report shows that the Defender had killed one of the bouncers with a cyanide patch in public, while avoiding having his face caught by the cameras. At the police station, the detective says that the Defender must have rehearsed the cyanide kill to prevent his face from being spotted, but when the tapes were reviewed, they found nothing. At Phineas' interview, Phineas talks about how the punishment no longer fit the crime, and how people should honour human life, even though he killed people. '''TITLE QUOTE: '''When Phineas and Kevin are talking about justifiable homicide, Phineas mentions how Justification is relative Hows that for an answer? At Phineas' interview, Kevin asks if any of Phineas' victims had anything positive to contribute to society, to which Phineas simply replies, 'No' News headlines talked about how the Defender was killing more and more people, and needed to be stopped. Mike was standing infront of a crowd mentioning how the Defender has given the people a choice, do nothing or take action, he rallies the crowd in support of taking action. Late at night, 3 men in masked were hunting down the second bouncer from the previous chapter, they try to kill him, but the bouncer had a baseball bat and used it to bludgeon the men to death, he then grabs the camera telling the Defender to come after him himself. '''TITLE QUOTE: '''When Mike is giving his speech, a woman in the crowd says doing nothing isn't the answer, when Mike says it's time to demand a change, he asks the crowd 'HOW'S THAT FOR AN ANSWER?' That country is a vigilante At the police station, Kevin and the detective talk about how the deaths of the 3 S4TD members caused the movement to go viral. In a car park, another S4TD member gets the bouncer's attention and lures him away from his car holding a camera, when the bouncer offers the member the first shot, another member attacks the bouncer from behind before an army of masked men with baseball bats beat down the bouncer, before the member that got the bouncer's attention (Presumeably Mike Waters), calls them off and takes a bat of his own, using it to bludgeon the bouncer to death with one final strike to the skull. At Phineas' interview, Kevin asks if Phineas masterminded the rise of S4TD, but Phineas assures him that he didn't. A news report shows that The Defender had offered to end his killing spree for $10,000,000. Late at night, police stake out the area where the money was supposed to be left, before ambushing the man inside, however, the man wasn't the real Dark Defender. At Net News, Kevin and Spencer talk about the fake Defender, and the war between S4TD and the Defender, the police and the criminals. '''TITLE QUOTE: '''Spencer mentions how a vigilante is someone who breaks the law in the persuit of what they believe is right and what they believe is justice and how a country does basically the same thing when they send soldiers to other countries to kill people for what THEY believe is justice. Note: This is the only chapter where Phineas doesn't kill anyone, nor are any of his victims revealed It's hoping, praying someone will come A news report showed a woman who was the mother of a Defender victim crying. In Phineas' interview, he says how he feels sorry for her and the man he killed, saying it's like when you kill a spider in your kids treehouse, you don't want to kill the spider but you have to protect your children. Late at night, it's revealed that S4TD members have been torturing lawyers. Because of this, Mike is arrested. Elsewhere, Kevin was talking to the Defender's lawyer, saying that they planned on convincing the jury that Phineas only committed one murder and took credit for the others. Several Months ago, Phineas was in his office watching a woman giving a witness statement about what it's like to lose someone. At Phineas' interview, Kevin mentions a name to Phineas, when Phineas laughs at the name and Kevin asks what was funny, Phineas replies, 'There's nothing funny about Buford Van Stomm' '''TITLE QUOTE: '''The woman giving the witness statement mentions this when describing what it's like to lose someone. Who could blame him? The lights come on in a garage, Buford was tied to a chair and the Defender sat in another chair facing him. At the news studio, Kevin talked about the broadcast to the 2 DNN employees. At a TV and Electronics shop, the shop owner talks about how the broadcast was once in a lifetime. At Net News, Kevin talks to Spencer, who says that he called the police when he knew what was happening, but Kevin proves that Spencer didn't. Back at the garage, The Defender wakes up Buford, who is clearly scared, but insists he hasn't committed any crimes, but the defender grabs a box which contained 6 strips of human hair, all from little girls, while Buford tries to convince the Defender that the hair collection isn't his, but it doesn't work. At Net News, Spencer talks about the broadcast's popularity. Back at the garage, Buford mentions that the Defender can't prove anything and if he kills him, he's just a murderer, the Defender then removed his mask, revealing his identity to the entire world. Phineas then started a powerpoint presentation, showing Phineas' family from 2 years ago, him, his wife Isabella and their daughter, Miriam Flynn. 2 weeks before Buford came along, he keeps forcing Buford to watch the presentation, telling him to look at what he destroyed. At Net News, Spencer says he thought Phineas would just kill Buford right there, but was shocked by what really happened. Back at the garage, after the powerpoint ended, Phineas asked if any of the strips of hair belonged to Miriam, but Buford says none of them are hers, Phineas gives Buford 5 minutes to convince Phineas not to kill him, Phineas says he thought for a while about how to punish criminals, before mentioning that he buys bullets in bulk, he says he's done with the killing and Buford is the last, but if Buford can convince Phineas to let him live, then Buford would live. Buford explains that when he was in High School, he got mixed up with some drugs before he was framed for stealing a car and arrested, where he was taught how to steal, pick locks, hurt people and get girls, while Buford says he can't help himself, Phineas says Buford likes it, because it makes him feel like a man, when Buford apologises, Phineas says he could forgive Buford, but he didn't believe what Buford told him, saying that not only did Buford kill Miriam, causing Phineas to become a Vigilante Serial Killer, but it also sent Isabella into a spiral of alcoholsim, and she had been in and out of rehab since Miriam's death. When Buford goes crazy, he confesses and sickingly describes how good it felt to kill Phineas' daughter, but when Buford says she was one of his favourites, Phineas snaps and shoots Buford, before pinning a sheet of paper with his current location onto Buford's chest with a combat knife. Half of the viewers were proud of Phineas for killing Buford, the other half were disgusted. Police soon arrived at the garage and arrested Phineas '''TITLE QUOTE: '''Spencer asks who could blame Phineas for killing Buford since Buford killed Phineas' daughter. Why it had to be you A news report is given about Phineas' arrest. Kevin asks Phineas if he meant it when he offered Buford forgiveness, and Phineas says he didn't mean it and he only wanted him to suffer and feel the pain that only hope can bring. Phineas points out that he chose to forgive people who felt remorse for what they had done. When Kevin asks if Phineas could be forgiven, Phineas doesn't respond and Kevin lets Sally (The girl Phineas saved from the priest) and her father in where they thank Phineas for killing Dennis, Sally hugs Phineas and he smiles. A psychologist says that Phineas saw Sally as the daughter he couldn't save and Sally saw Phineas as a good man for taking out a bad man. Back at the interview, Isabella enters the room and they talk about Phineas killing Buford because of Miriam's death, she hugs and kisses Phineas before leaving and Phineas explains how he feels like he's done the right thing, Phineas also gives a speech about how people need to take action. Phineas reveals a cyanide pill in his mouth and everyone in the room tries to hold him down, until Phineas fights out of their grasp and kills Kevin, revealing that Kevin was involved in a kidnapping, torture and murder of a young man from years ago. At the trial, before the verdict could be revealed, an explosion goes off to interrupt the proceedings as S4TD members charge in with guns to get Phineas away. Spencer notices Isabella standing outside the courthouse. Alternative Ending In the alternate ending on Archive of Our Own, the fic doesn't end with Spencer seeing Isabella outside the courthouse. Through a series of flashbacks, the story is retold from Isabella's point of view. After receiving the news about their daughter's death, Phineas and Isabella decide that the man responsible should pay. Another flashback shows Isabella making Phineas' Dark Defender mask. Another flashback shows that when the Dark Defender strangled the man in the alleyway with the garrote, it is revealed that this was actually Isabella, not Phineas. Another flashback reveals that when Phineas killed the man in the undisclosed location with the broken bottle, it is revealed that Isabella raised the hook that hung the man by his wrists, broke the bottle and held the pictures of the 2 girls infront of the camera. It is also revealed in another flashback that Isabella knocked out a security guard to check the security cameras in the building where Phineas killed Joshua Hart, Isabella was also the woman shown in the elevator. A flashback to the S4TD rally reveals Isabella was the one who screamed out "THAT'S NOT THE ANSWER!". One final flashback shows that when Isabella kissed Phineas in the interview room, she slipped the fake cyanide pill into his mouth. Phineas' Victims This is a list of all the named victims throughout the fic. In the alternate ending, it is revealed Isabella killed one of the victims, it is unknown if she killed others. #Dennis Harrison: A retired priest, Phineas killed him by beating him to death with a police baton because Dennis was actually a pedophile #Unnamed Victim shot in alleyway: The victim's crime was not revealed #Unnamed Victim found under Bridge: While the victim's crime was not revealed, nor was the method of death, Spencer points out that this man was actually the Defender's 9th victim #Unnamed Victim strangled with garrote: It is assumed that this victim was a drug or arms dealer. In the alternate ending, it is revealed this man was actually killed by Isabella #Unnamed Victim killed in undisclosed location: Phineas hung the victim with chains by his wrists before stabbing him with a broken bottle. The victim's crime is unknown, but the photos of the girls that Phineas (revealed to really be Isabella in the alternate ending) held infront of the camera suggest the man had either killed the girls or raped them, or possibly both. #Holly's Boyfriend: When Phineas found out that Holly's boyfriend had been beating her when he was drunk, Phineas beat him to death in an alleyway. This kill seemed slightly more personal to Phineas as Holly was a childhood friend of his. #Unnamed Double Murderer: The victims name was not given, the way he was murdered was not given either, only his crime as a double murderer was revealed. The way he was murdered was hinted by a photo of him face down on the ground completely naked. #Unnamed Child Molester: A 20 something year old man, he was killed by being impaled with a wooden spike. #Unnamed Granny Basher: A man shown in a photo face down in the grass in his underwear, the way he was killed was not revealed #Unnamed Serial Date Rapist: Shown in a photo in a bathroom after he was shot in the groin, however, since it is highly unlikely to die by being shot in the groin, it is unknown how he died. #Joshua Hart: A bouncer from a nightclub who had beaten a teenager to a coma before the teenager died from his injuries, Phineas killed him by sticking a homemade cyanide patch onto the back of his neck. It is mentioned that Joshua was Phineas' 20th victim #Mr Thompson: While his first name isn't revealed, his last name is revealed to be Thompson when his mother gave a statement regarding her son, it is unknown what his crime was or how he died, it is possible he might be one of the victims mentioned before #Buford Van Stomm: Phineas' most personal kill, Buford had followed and kidnapped Phineas' daughter, Miriam, before raping and killing her, Miriam's death is what caused Phineas to become a Vigilante Serial Killer in the first place and also caused Phineas' wife Isabella to give in to alcoholism, sending her in and out of rehab. Phineas offered to let Buford live if Buford could convince Phineas to forgive him, Buford was unsuccessful and Phineas shot Buford in the head, it is revealed in the last chapter that Phineas was actually lying about offering to let Buford live. Buford was actually a serial killer as he had also killed at least 5 other girls #20 Unnamed Victims: There crimes were not revealed, nor were their names or the way they were killed, is only known how many other victims there were because it was mentioned that the Defender had killed 33 people. #Kevin Rockmore: An investigative journalist, Phineas had found out that years ago, Kevin had kidnapped, tortured and killed a young man after keeping him in a dungeon. Phineas killed him by freaking everyone out with a fake cyanide pill, threatening suicide, but in the struggle, Phineas grabbed Kevin and snapped his neck, Kevin doesn't count towards the initial 33 murders as it had been mentioned by Phineas' lawyer that Phineas had killed 32 people before killing Buford, this happened while Kevin was still alive as he was talking to the lawyer. Another man is killed during the fic, a bouncer who worked with Joshua and was named 'Henry', he was killed by the S4TD members when they ambushed him with baseball bats. Trivia *Originally, Buford was meant to be the investigative journalist instead of Kevin. Also, the man that killed Phineas' daughter was meant to be Dr Doofenschmirtz *Originally, Irving was meant to be the leader of S4TD instead of Mike. *Ferb was originally meant to be in the fic, but he was later replaced by the OC, Spencer Garfield. *The fic is based on the film, John Doe: Vigilante, however several changes are made, mainly some dialogue being left out or added, or some scene's being cut. *The name 'Dark Defender' came from an episode of the hit US TV series, Dexter.